Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Naturally, the horse moved, his balance shifted, and the world tilted. Yep, he was going to fall in a graceless heap on his ass. Cole tensed, knowing it was too late to catch himself, and prepared to hit the ground hard.
Strong hands grabbed him, one on the shoulder and another on his hip. Cole’s eyes snapped open, and he found himself staring into a pair of startlingly pale-blue eyes. His feet found the ground, but a lot of his weight was braced on JB’s strong chest.
“Easy there, cowboy,” JB said. Cole knew it was supposed to be another playful remark, but there was something about that warm, husky tone that was like honey being poured across his brain.
The world dropped away, and he was no longer aware of the horses and the buzz of the bugs in the air. Even the heat of the day disappeared. There was the heat of JB’s body against his own, the smell of sweat mixed with hints of JB’s aftershave, and the sound of each ragged breath they drew.
JB’s tongue flicked out, wetting his bottom lip, and Cole couldn’t tear his eyes from that quick motion or the tantalizing dampness of that flesh. What would it feel like to kiss those parted lips? To taste him? To hear the hitch in his breath?
His own lips tingled with the thought of leaning in those last few inches and brushing their lips together, exploring that mouth.
“You steady now?”
JB’s question finally snapped Cole’s brain on, and he shoved off JB harder than he’d needed to, but it at least got him standing on his own. What the hell was wrong with him?
“Yeah. Sorry. I—” He bent down and scooped up the hat that had been knocked off his head to jam it into place. “Sorry about that,” Cole stammered. He was a fucking idiot.
JB smiled, but it wasn’t his usual smile. He looked unsteady too. “No problem.”
“What’s wrong with the cows?” Cole asked, trying to redirect their thoughts to the problem.
“They’re dead. Healthy cows don’t drop dead.” JB snatched up Bandit’s reins and held them out to Cole. “Could you take Bandit and Dopey over to that tree? Just loop their reins over the low branch so they don’t wander off. If the cows ate something bad on the ground, I don’t want either of these two happening on it.”
“Got it.” Cole accepted Bandit’s reins and grabbed Dopey’s. With minimal tugging, the two horses followed him the short distance to a nearby tree and he carefully looped the reins over. The horses didn’t seem to think anything of it as Cole left them to return to JB’s side. Probably enjoyed the chance to rest in the shade while he ran out into the blazing sunlight.
The cowboy hat was helping to keep the sun and sweat out of his eyes, but his shirt and jeans were starting to stick to him as sweat covered him. He was going to need a shower before he dropped into that hot tub.
When he returned to JB’s side, it was to find the man kneeling down beside one of the cows, a pair of gloves on his hands like he might see at a doctor’s office as he poked and prodded the corpse.
“What can I do to help?” Cole demanded.
JB’s head snapped up and stared at him in surprise, his expression splitting into a grin. “You sure?”
“Definitely.”
JB reached into his pocket and pulled out another pair of gloves for Cole. “Put these on just in case.”
They were a tight fit, but Cole quickly got them in place before even touching the poor beast. He followed JB’s instructions to the letter as the man inspected one cow and then the other. Flies buzzed wildly around their heads. When they were done, JB walked around the immediate area, seeming to search the ground, but it didn’t look like he found what he was looking for.
“We’ll have to call the vet in to look them over.”
“You mean a cow autopsy?”
JB’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes as he carefully pulled off his gloves. “Something like that. One of the most dangerous things for a cattle ranch is disease. If you don’t catch it early, it can spread and kill your whole herd in the blink of a fucking eye.”
“Shit,” Cole whispered.
Grabbing his phone, JB called back to the ranch, giving the location of the dead cows to another ranch hand along with a series of orders that included quarantining the part of the herd that had been in the field with the dead cows.
With some help from JB, Cole managed to get in Dopey’s saddle again, and they started for the ranch. What had begun as a nice ride went sour with the discovery of the dead cows and the potential threat to the rest of the herd.